SouveniF^ooK 

of 

The  Great  Chelsea  Fire 

April  12,  1908. 

CONTAINING  THIRTY-FOUR  VIEWS  OF  THE  BURNED 

DISTRICT  AND  PROMINENT  BUILDINGS. 

ALSO  A  DESCRIPTIVE  SKETCH. 

Copyright,  1908,  By  The  N.  E.  Paper  &  Stationery  Co. 

Manufacturers  of  Souvenir  Post  Cards  and  View  Books, 

Boston  and  Ayer,  Mass. 


I 


UNIVERSITY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS! 

LIBRARY 

SPECIAC 
COLLECTIONS 

F 
Ik 

C5S6 
1908 


THe  Great  CHelsea  Fire 

On  Sunday  April  12.  1908,  at  about  11  o'clock  A.  M.,  an  alarm  was  rung  in 
for  a  lire  in  the  works  of  the  Boston  Blacking  Co.  on  West  3rd  St.,  near  the  Everett  line. 
The  fire  department  responded  immediately  antl  succeeded  in  putting  out  the  lire  with 
but  very  little  damage,  but  the  forty-mile  gale  that  \\as  blowing  at  the  time  carried  sparks 
from  the  fire  to  nearby  houses,  and  soon  all  the  frame  buildings  in  that  vicinity  were 
ablaze.  The  fiie  then  traveled  v\  ith  gitat  rapidity  in  an  easterly  direction,  and  despite 
tiie  best  efforts  of  the  depaitrr.ent,  was  soon  beyond  control.  Aid  was  called  in  from 
nearby  cities,  but  even  the  largely  increased  force  was  unable  to  cope  with  the  fire,  and 
and  could  only  endeavor  to  keep  it  within  certain  limits.  So  intense  was  the  heat  that 
buildings  made  of  solid  granite  crumbled,  and  were  entirely  destroyed.  The  fire  could 
not  be  checked  in  its  easterlv  course,  and  in  a  short  time  had  traveled  across  the  city  and 
was  stopped  only  by  the  Mystic  River  at  the  East  Boston  line.  Almost  the  entire 
business  section  on  Broadway  was  destroyed,  the  northern  boundary  of  the  fire  on  Broad- 
way being  the  Boston  &  Maine  R.  R.  tracks,  and  the  southern  boundary  Chelsea  Square. 
Between  these  two  points  on  Broadway  almost  all  the  retail  business  of  city  was  done. 
Among  the  more  piominent  public  buildings  that  were  destroyed  are  the  City  Hall, 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  Building,  Odd  Fellows  Building,  Chelsea  Savings  Bank  and  County  Tiust 
Co.  buildings.  The  number  of  buildings  destroyed  is  estimated  at  about  loUU,  while 
between  10,000  and  12,000  people  were  rendered  homeless. 


No  sooner  had  the  awful  havoc  that  the  fire  had  wrought  hecome  known,  than 
rehef  funds  were  started  all  over  the  country,  and  many  of  the  cities  and  towns  in  Mass- 
achusetts gave  substantial  amounts  tor  the  relief  of  the  stricken  city. 

Within  two  weeks  after  the  fire,  Lee  Higginson  &  Co.,  who  were  financial  agents 
for  the  official  relief  committee  had  received  almost  $300,000,  and  many  thousands  of 
dollars  more  were  given  directly  b\  employers  of  the  burnt-out  families,  and  by  fraternal 
organizations  sudh  as  Knights  of  Columbus,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Odd  Fellows,  Elks, 
Ea<^les  and  many  others,  almost  all  of  which  established  relief  headquarters  at  once 
The  central  relief  committee  immediately  opened  relief  stations  at  the  new  High  School 
building  and  at  Lincoln  Hall,  and  thousands  were  fed  at  these  two  places  daily. 

By  Tuesday,  great  quantities  of  clothing  had  been  received  for  distribution,  and  a 
receiving  station  was  established  at  Keany  Sq.  Boston,  where  contributions  of  clothing 
and  household  goods  were  received. 

On  Wednesday  a  large  number  of  people  were  furnished  with  cooking  utensils 
and  mattresses,  and  by  the  end  of  the  week  thousands  of  sets  of  bed-clotliing  had  been 
distributed. 

In  response  to  a  call  from  the  relief  committee,  hundreds  of  autoinobiles  offered 
their  services  in  delivering  goods  to  the  homeless,  and  the  work  of  relief  was  greatly 
aided  by  this  means. 


^v 


B  i't.S^' 


Looking  up  Eitat^^a^  (rem  Ihiid  Slucl.  TKe  hurl  oUhc  lusintss  CisUicl. 


3        ^ 


lookinc  l-o^oard  Everett  Ave.  from  rear  of  Knishls;  of  Columbus  Hall.sho'oJing   Congregational  and  Univcrsalisl 
Churches  and  Chel<;ea Trust  Co    Building. 


Looking  do>>)n  E>3cren  AnJc.  from  Chestnut  Street,  another  ^\f^  of  the  congested  district. 


2 


Cherr>;  Street  from  Everett  Avenue. 


Bcllingham  Hill  from  Chester  A>Jc.  This  hill  >)Jas  Ihc  site  of  man^^  fine  residences 


All  that  remains  of  the  residential  section  on  Chester  Ave. 


Bdlingham  Station,  BroadvJa^ 


Ruins  of  Ihe  ^^7illiams  School,  'Walnut  Street. 


Ruins  of  Ci^^?  Hall  and  C\\^  Hall 
School,  Central  Avenue. 


Ruins  of  the  Shurtleff  School,  Essck  Street,  This  ^>Jas  a  magnificent  granite  structure,  bnt  the 
stone  of  vJhich  it  >30as  built  >)Jas  crumbled  b^  the  great  heat  of  the  fire. 


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>»">«. 


Wreck  of  a  L^nn  Fire  Engine,  ^hich  had  to  be  abandoned 


Ruins  of  SI.  Rose  Catholic  Church, 
Broad^)Oa^il,  Chelsea.  Mass.  After 
the  big  fire  of  April  12,  1908. 


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First  Baptist  Church  and  Cit^  Hall,  Central  A>3e.      , 


Filj  Public  Librar^;,  destroyed  in  the  Big  Fire. 


Birdse^e  ViexjJ  of  Chelsea,  Mass.  from  Po^derhorn  Hill.  The  entire  district  shON>3n  in  this  >3ie^  vJith 
[he  CKception  of  the  houses  in  the  immediate  foreground  ^as  entirely  destro^jied  in  the  Big  Fire 


Chelsea  Square.  The  nearer  end  of  Ih's  square  marks  Ihe  southern  limit  of  the  fire  on  BroadwaN^ 


A  list  o<  the  more  prominent  buildings  destroyed  bjr  the  fire  is  given  below,  although  this  does  not 
by  any  means  include  a  complete  list  of  the  public  or  semi-public  structures  that  were  burned. 


CHURCHES 

Central  Congregational  Church 

St.  Rose  Catholic 

First  Universalist 

First  Unitarian 

First  Baptist 

Polish  Catholic 

Btilingham  M.  E. 

St.  Luke's  Episcopal 

Several  Synagogues 


SCHOOLS 
Williams  Grammar 
Frank  B.  Fay 
Shurtlefif 
Bellingham 
Broadway 

Highland 
QtyHall 

Shawmut  St. 

Parochial 


PROMINENT  BLDGS. 
CityHaU 

Y.  M.  C  A.  Building 
Odd  Fellows  Building 
Chelsea  Trust  Co. 
Chelsea  Saving  Bank 
Granite  Block 
State  Armory 
Public  Library 
County  Savings  Bank 


